Lessons Learned - Proud new papa . . .

[Jim Poor]

. . . of some new equipment. Three cameras, two lenses and a few extra goodies. However, the point of this post is more about some lessons learned from my older kids, err gear.

Dear new gear.

1. I will not use up 5% of your estimated shutter life in one day. Your older brother taught me that while there are times to hold the button down, timing, and confidence are a much better approach 99% of the time.

2. I will endeavor to keep your lens cap and not let it wander off. That said, I know you are strong and resilient and can live without it in my bag if needed.

Dear old gear.

1. No need to be jealous. You know the ropes and we are a team. You're my first choice while the new gear grows up and until you leave the house.

2. With new gear here to help out, you can take some time off, get a much needed checkup and a vacation back at the factory.


Bah, that's all the silliness I can muster this rainy morning.

Thanks to an angel investor I've added an entire set of back up gear as well as some new toys for venturing off into new directions. We can now shoot two separate events with a full set of spares at each location. The bigger help though is that I can send in a camera for repair as needed and still have some breathing room. My D3 is up over 300K shutter clicks and the D3S is over 200K, so a shutter failure can't be that far away.

[NicoleScraps]

Where can I find an investor like that?

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by NicoleScraps

Where can I find an investor like that?

Ask around and let it be known that you're looking.

Of course a solid business plan and demonstrated success helps.

[Jim Bryant]

Yup, those are the reasons why I still use the MKII's for shooting sports. Better focus tracking and I don't have to worry about blowing out a shutter like in the newer models.
For some reason, the older models are build to take a beating. Drop one of those 5D MKII's and see just how long it works.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Yup, those are the reasons why I still use the MKII's for shooting sports. Better focus tracking and I don't have to worry about blowing out a shutter like in the newer models.
For some reason, the older models are build to take a beating. Drop one of those 5D MKII's and see just how long it works.

My D3 and D3S bodies have (knock on wood) held up to some pretty extreme use. Even the on D3 I sold a while back is still up and running in the hands of another.

I did consider waiting for the D4, but Nikon has publicly stated that they won't be so concerned with High ISO performance in future bodies, and I really need that ISO 12,800 and higher capability for some of my events.